Game

Final Fantasy XIV on a Mac with a controller

Download InputConfig on the Mac App StoreThe Final Fantasy XIV layout is built into InputConfig, free on the Mac App Store. You don't have to make an account, there are no subscriptions, and nothing is locked. Optimized for Apple silicon.

On a Mac: Mac client from Square Enix. On Apple silicon it needs Rosetta, according to Square Enix's system requirements page. The game's own gamepad mode, the cross hotbar, is the way to play on a pad when it sees yours.

Yes, Final Fantasy XIV plays on a Mac with a controller, and its gamepad mode, the cross hotbar, is the best controller interface any MMO has. If the Mac client reacts to your controller, use it. Nothing here beats it. This layout is for when it does not: a pad the game does not list, an adaptive controller, or one controller shared with other Mac games. It plays the keyboard game from the pad.

On this page: 9 sections
  1. The layout, control by control
  2. How the layout thinks
  3. Tune it
  4. When the Mac client does not see your controller
  5. Final Fantasy XIV controller support: controller or keyboard
  6. If your controller is not working in Final Fantasy XIV
  7. Get it in two clicks
  8. Final Fantasy XIV controls: every button and the key it sends
  9. Questions

The layout, control by control

Click a control. Labels:

How the layout thinks

  • Move. The left stick moves (W, A, S and D). The left stick click jumps (Space).
  • Camera. The right stick moves the mouse, and FFXIV turns the camera only while a mouse button is held, so hold a trigger as you push it.
  • Hotbar. Slots 1 to 4 are the face buttons, 5 the right bumper, 6 the left bumper, and slot 10 (0) is D-pad up.
  • Target. The right trigger selects a target (left click), and the left trigger acts on it (right click).
  • Auto-run and menus. D-pad down toggles auto-run (R), and the right stick click sets it too. D-pad left opens the inventory (I), right the map (M), Back the character menu (C), and Options the main menu.

Hold a trigger while you push the right stick, or the camera will not turn.

Tune it

  • More hotbar. Add slots 7 to 12 as chords of the same buttons.
  • The real answer. Use the game's own gamepad mode, if it sees your pad.

Six more slots on a chord cover most rotations.

When the Mac client does not see your controller

Check in the order that finds the problem fastest:

  1. Check the Mac sees it. Open Game Controllers in the System Settings sidebar and press buttons. If the pad is not listed or nothing lights up, the Mac itself is not seeing it, and no game will: controller not recognized on a Mac.
  2. Flip Steam Input. On the Steam version, try the game with Steam Input on and then off in its controller settings in Steam. One of the two often hands the pad through. Works in Steam but not in the game has more.
  3. Check the game's settings. Look through the game's own gamepad settings.
  4. Use this layout. If none of that brings up the cross hotbar, this layout plays the keyboard game from the same pad.

Use the cross hotbar first, and this layout only when the game cannot see the pad.

Final Fantasy XIV controller support: controller or keyboard

Steam's store page lists partial controller support for Final Fantasy XIV: it plays on a controller, but some parts, such as a launcher, text entry or a menu, still expect a keyboard or a mouse. This layout sends keys and mouse movement from the pad, which can cover the parts the game's own support leaves out. With partial support, a layout fills the gaps the game leaves.

From Steam's listing, checked in October 2026. Every game's listing is in Mac games with controller support.

If your controller is not working in Final Fantasy XIV

When Final Fantasy XIV does not react to your controller on a Mac, climb this ladder, smallest step first:

  1. Check that the Mac sees the controller. Open the gamepad tester and press a button. If nothing lights up there, the problem is the connection, and a controller that is connected but not working covers that first.
  2. Play it from keys. If Final Fantasy XIV still ignores the pad, activate this layout. It sends the keyboard and mouse controls Final Fantasy XIV already reads. Turn the game's own controller option off while it runs, or a press can arrive twice. The layout works whether or not Final Fantasy XIV ever sees the controller.

Get it in two clicks

  1. Get InputConfig free on the Mac App Store, open it, and click Smart Preset Maker on the welcome screen.
  2. Search for Final Fantasy XIV and pick it. The layout is created as a preset in your sidebar, named and ready.
  3. Press Activate. Every row can be changed afterwards: the editor's Scan button rebinds any control the moment you touch it.

To check the controller itself first, the gamepad tester shows every button and stick live in your browser.

Final Fantasy XIV controls: every button and the key it sends

The Sends column is Final Fantasy XIV's default keyboard and mouse controls, as this layout expects them. If you changed a key in the game's settings, change the same row in InputConfig.

The Final Fantasy XIV preset in InputConfig, drawn on a DualSense Edge with each control labeled with the key or action it sends.
Figure 1. The Final Fantasy XIV preset drawn on a DualSense Edge in InputConfig's Live Visualizer. Any other controller shows the same layout on its own drawing.
ControllerSendsWhat it does
Left stick leftALeft stick left moves with A
Left stick rightDLeft stick right moves with D
Left stick upWLeft stick up moves forward with W
Left stick downSLeft stick down moves back with S
Right stick leftMouse motion left (speed 16)Right stick X drags the camera left
Right stick rightMouse motion right (speed 16)Right stick X drags the camera right
Right stick upMouse motion up (speed 16)Right stick Y drags the camera up
Right stick downMouse motion down (speed 16)Right stick Y drags the camera down
A / Cross1A uses hotbar slot 1, mapped to the 1 key
X / Square2X uses hotbar slot 2, mapped to the 2 key
Y / Triangle3Y uses hotbar slot 3, mapped to the 3 key
B / Circle4B uses hotbar slot 4, mapped to the 4 key
RB / R15RB uses hotbar slot 5, mapped to the 5 key
LB / L16LB uses hotbar slot 6, mapped to the 6 key
Right triggerLeft clickRight trigger selects a target, left click
Left triggerRight clickLeft trigger context acts on the target, right click
L3 (left stick click)SpaceL3 jumps, mapped to Space
R3 (right stick click)Middle clickR3 sets auto-run, mapped to the mouse wheel click
D-pad up0D-pad up uses hotbar slot 10, mapped to the 0 key
D-pad downRD-pad down toggles auto-run, mapped to R
D-pad leftID-pad left opens inventory, mapped to I
D-pad rightMD-pad right opens the map, mapped to M
Start / OptionsEscapeStart opens the main menu via Escape
Back / Share / SelectCBack opens the character menu, mapped to C

Button names follow the Xbox / PlayStation pair shown in the editor, so A / Cross is the bottom face button on either pad. On a Switch Pro Controller the bottom button is labeled B; the mapping still fires on position.

Questions

Does Final Fantasy XIV on Mac support controllers?

Yes, natively, with the cross hotbar. This layout is only for pads the game does not see.

Can I use a PS5 controller with FFXIV on a Mac?

If the game's gamepad mode sees it, yes, with the cross hotbar. If it does not, this layout drives the keyboard game from a DualSense, or from a DualShock 4, Xbox or Switch Pro controller.

Does this replace the cross hotbar?

No. It gives you hotbar slots on buttons, and you can add more behind a chord, but it is not the cross hotbar. When the game reads your pad, its own mode is better.

Does Final Fantasy XIV have controller support?

Partly. Steam lists partial controller support for Final Fantasy XIV: it plays on a controller, but some screens still expect a keyboard or mouse.

Is Final Fantasy XIV better with a controller or a keyboard?

A controller works for most of it. Steam lists partial controller support for Final Fantasy XIV, so some screens still expect a keyboard or a mouse, and a layout like this one can put those on the pad.

Why is my controller not working in Final Fantasy XIV on a Mac?

First check the Mac itself sees the controller, with the gamepad tester. If it does and Final Fantasy XIV still ignores it, activate the Final Fantasy XIV layout in InputConfig, which sends the game's keyboard and mouse controls from the controller.

Download InputConfig on the Mac App StoreCompletely free. You don't have to make an account, there are no subscriptions, and nothing is locked. Optimized for Apple silicon. Open source on GitHub.

Updated